Debbie & Richard Lawrence4th Edition

LIFE

GOD’S DESIGN®

World of Animals

The

Teacher Supplement

God’s Design for Life The World of Animals Teacher Supplement

Printed January 2016

Fourth edition. Copyright © 2008, 2016 by Debbie & Richard Lawrence.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the author and publisher other than: (1) the specific pages within the book that are designed for single family/class-room use, and (2) as brief quotations quoted in a review.

ISBN: 978-1-62691-431-5

Published by Answers in Genesis, 2800 Bullittsburg Church Rd., Petersburg KY 41080

Book designer: Diane KingEditor: Gary Vaterlaus

All scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The publisher and authors have made every reasonable effort to ensure that the activities recommended in this book are safe when performed as instructed but assume no responsibility for any damage caused or sustained while conducting the experiments and activities. It is the parents’, guardians’, and/or teachers’ responsibility to supervise all recommended activities.

Printed in China.

AnswersInGenesis.org • GodsDesign.com

Teacher Introduction 5

Answer Key 15

Mammals 15

Birds & Fish 20

Amphibians & Reptiles 25

Arthropods 29

Other Invertebrates 33

Simple Organisms 37

Resource Guide 41

Master Supply List 42

Works Cited 43

The World of Animals • 5

God’s Design for Life is a series that has been designed for use in teaching life science to elementary and

middle school students. It is divided into three books: The World of Plants, The World of Animals, and The Human Body. Each book has 35 lessons including a final project that ties all of the lessons together.

In addition to the lessons, special features in each book include biographical information on interesting people as well as fun facts to make the subject more fun.

Although this is a complete curriculum, the infor-mation included here is just a beginning, so please feel free to add to each lesson as you see fit. A resource guide is included in the appendices to help you find additional information and resources. A list of supplies needed is included at the beginning of each lesson, while a master list of all supplies needed for the entire series can be found in the appendices.

Answer keys for all review questions, worksheets, quizzes, and the final exam are included here. Repro-

ducible student worksheets and tests may be found in the digital download that comes with the purchase of the curriculum. You may download these files from GodsDesign.com/Life.

If you prefer the files on a CD-ROM, you can order that from Answers in Genesis at an additional cost by calling 800-778-3390.

If you wish to get through all three books of the Life series in one year, plan on covering approximately three lessons per week. The time required for each lesson varies depending on how much additional information you include, but plan on about 40 to 45 minutes.Quiz-zes may be given at the conclusion of each unit and the final exam may be given after lesson 34.

If you wish to cover the material in more depth, you may add additional information and take a longer period of time to cover all the material, or you could choose to do only one or two of the books in the series as a unit study.

Why Teach Life Science?

Maybe you hate science or you just hate teaching it. Maybe you love science but don’t quite know

how to teach it to your children. Maybe science just doesn’t seem as important as some of those other sub-jects you need to teach. Maybe you need a little moti-

vation. If any of these descriptions fits you, then please consider the following.

It is not uncommon to question the need to teach your kids hands-on science in elementary school. We could argue that the knowledge gained in science will

GOD’S DESIGN® Welcome to

LIFE

6 • The World of Animals

be needed later in life in order for your children to be more productive and well-rounded adults. We could argue that teaching your children science also teaches them logical and inductive thinking and reasoning skills, which are tools they will need to be more successful. We could argue that science is a necessity in this technolog-ical world in which we live. While all of these arguments are true, not one of them is the real reason that we should teach our children science. The most important reason to teach science in elementary school is to give your children an understanding that God is our Creator, and the Bible can be trusted. Teaching science from a creation perspective is one of the best ways to reinforce your children’s faith in God and to help them counter the evolutionary propaganda they face every day.

God is the Master Creator of everything. His hand-iwork is all around us. Our Great Creator put in place all of the laws of physics, biology, and chemistry. These laws were put here for us to see His wisdom and power. In science, we see the hand of God at work more than in any other subject. Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they

[men] are without excuse.” We need to help our chil-dren see God as Creator of the world around them so they will be able to recognize God and follow Him.

The study of life science helps us understand the balance of nature so that we can be good stewards of our bodies, the plants, and the animals around us. It helps us appreciate the intricacies of life and the won-ders of God’s creation. Understanding the world of living things from a biblical point of view will prepare our children to deal with an ecology-obsessed world. It is critical to teach our children the truth of the Bible, how to evaluate the evidence, how to distinguish fact from theory and to realize that the evidence, rightly interpreted, supports biblical creation, not evolution.

It’s fun to teach life science! It’s interesting, too. Chil-dren have a natural curiosity about living things, so you won’t have to coax them to explore the world of living creatures. You just have to direct their curiosity and reveal to them how interesting life science can be.

Finally, teaching life science is easy. It’s all around us. Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by living things. You won’t have to try to find strange materials for exper-iments or do dangerous things to learn about life.

How Do I Teach Science?

In order to teach any subject you need to understand how people learn. People learn in different ways.

Most people, and children in particular, have a dom-inant or preferred learning style in which they absorb and retain information more easily.

If a student’s dominant style is:

AuditoryHe needs not only to hear the information but he needs to hear himself say it. This child needs oral presentation as well as oral drill and repetition.

VisualShe needs things she can see. This child responds

well to flashcards, pictures, charts, models, etc.

KinestheticHe needs active participation. This child remembers

best through games, hands-on activities, experi-ments, and field trips.

Also, some people are more relational while others are more analytical. The relational student needs to know why this subject is important, and how it will affect him personally. The analytical student, however, wants just the facts.

If you are trying to teach more than one student, you will probably have to deal with more than one learning style. Therefore, you need to present your lessons in several different ways so that each stu-dent can grasp and retain the information.

Grades 3–8The first part of each lesson should be completed

by all upper elementary and junior high students. This is the main part of the lesson containing a read-ing section, a hands-on activity that reinforces the ideas in the reading section (blue box), and a review section that provides review questions and applica-tion questions.

The World of Animals • 7

Grades 6–8In addition, for middle school/junior high age stu-

dents, we provide a “Challenge” section that contains more challenging material as well as additional activi-ties and projects for older students (green box).

We have included periodic biographies to help your students appreciate the great men and women who have gone before us in the field of science.

We suggest a threefold approach to each lesson:

Introduce the topic We give a brief description of the facts. Fre-quently you will want to add more information than the essentials given in this book. In addition to reading this section aloud (or having older children read it on their own), you may wish to do one or more of the following:• Read a related book with your students.• Write things down to help your visual learners.• Give some history of the subject. We provide

some historical sketches to help you, but you may want to add more.

• Ask questions to get your students thinking about the subject.

Make observations and do experiments• Hands-on projects are suggested for each lesson.

This part of each lesson may require help from the teacher.

• Have your students perform the activity by themselves whenever possible.

Review• The “What did we learn?” section has review

questions.• The “Taking it further” section encourages stu-

dents to- Draw conclusions- Make applications of what was learned- Add extended information to what was

covered in the lesson• The “FUN FACT” section adds fun or interesting

information.

By teaching all three parts of the lesson, you will be presenting the material in a way that children with any learning style can both relate to and remember.

Also, this approach relates directly to the scientific method and will help your students think more scien-tifically. The scientific method is just a way to examine a subject logically and learn from it. Briefly, the steps of the scientific method are:

1. Learn about a topic.2. Ask a question.3. Make a hypothesis (a good guess).4. Design an experiment to test your hypothesis.5. Observe the experiment and collect data.6. Draw conclusions. (Does the data support your

hypothesis?)

Note: It’s okay to have a “wrong hypothesis.” That’s how we learn. Be sure to help your students under-stand why they sometimes get a different result than expected.

Our lessons will help your students begin to approach problems in a logical, scientific way.

8 • The World of Animals

How Do I Teach Creation vs Evolution?

We are constantly bombarded by evolutionary ideas about living things in books, movies, muse-

ums, and even commercials. These raise many questions: Did dinosaurs really live millions of years ago? Did man evolve from apes? Which came first, Adam and Eve or the cavemen? Where did living things come from in

the first place? The Bible answers these questions and this book accepts the historical accuracy of the Bible as written. We believe this is the only way we can teach our children to trust that everything God says is true.

There are five common views of the origins of life and the age of the earth:

Historical biblical account

Progressive creation Gap theory

Theistic evolution

Naturalistic evolution

Each day of cre-ation in Genesis is a normal day of about 24 hours in length, in which God cre-ated everything that exists. The earth is only thousands of years old, as deter-mined by the gene-alogies in the Bible.

The idea that God created various creatures to replace other creatures that died out over millions of years. Each of the days in Genesis represents a long period of time (day-age view) and the earth is billions of years old.

The idea that there was a long, long time between what happened in Genesis 1:1 and what happened in Genesis 1:2. During this time, the “fossil record” was supposed to have formed, and millions of years of earth history sup-posedly passed.

The idea that God used the process of evolution over millions of years (involving struggle and death) to bring about what we see today.

The view that there is no God and evolution of all life forms happened by purely naturalistic processes over bil-lions of years.

Any theory that tries to combine the evolution-ary time frame with creation presupposes that death entered the world before Adam sinned, which contra-dicts what God has said in His Word. The view that the earth (and its “fossil record”) is hundreds of millions of years old damages the gospel message. God’s com-pleted creation was “very good” at the end of the sixth day (Genesis 1:31). Death entered this perfect para-dise after Adam disobeyed God’s command. It was the punishment for Adam’s sin (Genesis 2:16–17; 3:19; Romans 5:12–19). Thorns appeared when God cursed the ground because of Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:18).

The first animal death occurred when God killed at least one animal, shedding its blood, to make clothes for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21). If the earth’s

“fossil record” (filled with death, disease, and thorns) formed over millions of years before Adam appeared (and before he sinned), then death no longer would

be the penalty for sin. Death, the “last enemy” (1 Cor-inthians 15:26), diseases (such as cancer), and thorns would instead be part of the original creation that God labeled “very good.” No, it is clear that the “fossil record” formed some time after Adam sinned—not many mil-lions of years before. Most fossils were formed as a result of the worldwide Genesis Flood.

When viewed from a biblical perspective, the sci-entific evidence clearly supports a recent creation by God, and not naturalistic evolution and millions of years. The volume of evidence supporting the biblical creation account is substantial and cannot be ade-quately covered in this book. If you would like more information on this topic, please see the resource guide in the appendices. To help get you started, just a few examples of evidence supporting biblical cre-ation are given below:

The World of Animals • 9

Evolutionary Myth: Humans have been around for more than one million years.

The Truth: If people have been on earth for a million years, there would be trillions of people on the earth today, even if we allowed for worst-case plagues, natural disasters, etc. The number of people on earth today is about 6.5 billion. If the population had grown at only a 0.01% rate (today’s rate is over 1%) over 1 million years, there could be 1043 people today (that’s a number with 43 zeros after it)! Repopulating the earth after the Flood would only require a population growth rate of 0.5%, half of what it is today.John D. Morris, The Young Earth (Colorado Springs: Creation Life Publishers, 1994), pp. 70–71. See also “Billions of People in Thousands of Years?” at www.answersingenesis.org/go/billions-of-people.

Evolutionary Myth: Man evolved from an ape-like creature.

The Truth: All so-called “missing links” showing human evolution from apes have been shown to be either apes, humans, or deliberate hoaxes. These links remain missing.Duane T. Gish, The Amazing Story of Creation from Science and the Bible (El Cajon: Institute for Creation Research, 1990), pp. 78–83.

Evolutionary Myth: All animals evolved from lower life forms.

The Truth: While Darwin predicted that the fossil record would show numerous transitional fossils, even more than 145 years later, all we have are a handful of disputable examples. For example, there are no fossils showing something that is part way between a dinosaur and a bird. Fossils show that a snail has always been a snail; a squid has always been a squid. God created each animal to reproduce after its kind (Genesis 1:20–25).Ibid., pp. 36, 53–60.

Evolutionary Myth: Dinosaurs evolved into birds.

The Truth: Flying birds have streamlined bodies, with the weight centralized for balance in flight; hollow bones for lightness, which are also part of their breathing system; powerful muscles for flight; and very sharp vision. And birds have two of the most brilliantly-designed structures in nature—their feathers and special lungs. It is impossible to believe that a reptile could make that many changes over time and still survive.Gregory Parker et al., Biology: God’s Living Creation (Pensacola: A Beka Books, 1997), pp. 474–475.

Evolutionary Myth: Thousands of changes over millions of years resulted in the creatures we see today.

The Truth: What is now known about human and animal anatomy shows the body structures, from the cells to systems, to be infinitely more complex than was believed when Darwin published his work in 1859. Many biologists and especially microbiologists are now saying that there is no way these complex structures could have developed by natural processes.Ibid., pp. 384–385.

10 • The World of Animals

Since the evidence does not support their theories, evolutionists are constantly coming up with new ways to try to support what they believe. One of their ideas is called punctuated equilibrium. This theory of evolu-tion says that rapid evolution occurred in small isolated populations, and left no evidence in the fossil record. There is no evidence for this, nor any known mechanism to cause these rapid changes. Rather, it is merely wishful thinking. We need to teach our children the difference between science and wishful thinking.

Despite the claims of many scientists, if you exam-ine the evidence objectively, it is obvious that evolution and millions of years have not been proven. You can be

confident that if you teach that what the Bible says is true, you won’t go wrong. Instill in your student a con-fidence in the truth of the Bible in all areas. If scientific thought seems to contradict the Bible, realize that sci-entists often make mistakes, but God does not lie. At one time scientists believed that the earth was the center of the universe, that living things could spring from non-living things, and that blood-letting was good for the body. All of these were believed to be scientific facts but have since been disproved, but the Word of God remains true. If we use modern “science” to inter-pret the Bible, what will happen to our faith in God’s Word when scientists change their theories yet again?

The World of Animals • 11

Integrating the Seven C’s

The Seven C’s is a framework in which all of history, and the future to come, can be placed. As we go

through our daily routines we may not understand how the details of life connect with the truth that we find in the Bible. This is also the case for students. When dis-cussing the importance of the Bible you may find your-self telling students that the Bible is relevant in everyday activities. But how do we help the younger generation see that? The Seven C’s are intended to help.

The Seven C’s can be used to develop a biblical worldview in students, young or old. Much more than entertaining stories and religious teachings, the Bible has real connections to our everyday life. It may be hard, at first, to see how many connections there are, but with practice, the daily relevance of God’s Word will come alive. Let’s look at the Seven C’s of History and how each can be connected to what the students are learning.

Creation

God perfectly created the heavens, the earth, and all that is in them in six

normal-length days around 6,000 years ago.This teaching is foundational to a biblical world-

view and can be put into the context of any subject. In science, the amazing design that we see in nature—whether in the veins of a leaf or the complexity of your hand—is all the handiwork of God. Virtually all of the lessons in God’s Design for Science can be related to God’s creation of the heavens and earth.

Other contexts include:Natural laws—any discussion of a law of nature naturally

leads to God’s creative power.DNA and information—the information in every living

thing was created by God’s supreme intelligence.Mathematics—the laws of mathematics reflect the order

of the Creator.Biological diversity—the distinct kinds of animals that we

see were created during the Creation Week, not as products of evolution.

Art—the creativity of man is demonstrated through var-ious art forms.

History—all time scales can be compared to the biblical time scale extending back about 6,000 years.

Ecology—God has called mankind to act as stewards over His creation.

Corruption

After God completed His perfect creation, Adam disobeyed God by eating

the forbidden fruit. As a result, sin and death entered the world, and the world has been in decay since that time. This point is evident throughout the world that we live in. The struggle for survival in animals, the death of loved ones, and the violence all around us are all examples of the corrupting influence of sin.

Other contexts include:Genetics—the mutations that lead to diseases, cancer,

and variation within populations are the result of corruption.

Biological relationships—predators and parasites result from corruption.

History—wars and struggles between mankind, exempli-fied in the account of Cain and Abel, are a result of sin.

Catastrophe

God was grieved by the wickedness of mankind and judged this wickedness

with a global Flood. The Flood covered the entire sur-face of the earth and killed all air-breathing creatures that were not aboard the Ark. The eight people and the animals aboard the Ark replenished the earth after God delivered them from the catastrophe.

The catastrophe described in the Bible would nat-urally leave behind much evidence. The studies of geol-ogy and of the biological diversity of animals on the planet are two of the most obvious applications of this event. Much of scientific understanding is based on how a scientist views the events of the Genesis Flood.

Other contexts include:Biological diversity—all of the birds, mammals, and

other air-breathing animals have populated the earth from the original kinds which left the Ark.

12 • The World of Animals

Geology—the layers of sedimentary rock seen in road-cuts, canyons, and other geologic features are tes-taments to the global Flood.

Geography—features like mountains, valleys, and plains were formed as the floodwaters receded.

Physics—rainbows are a perennial sign of God’s faith-fulness and His pledge to never flood the entire earth again.

Fossils—Most fossils are a result of the Flood rapidly burying plants and animals.

Plate tectonics—the rapid movement of the earth’s plates likely accompanied the Flood.

Global warming/Ice Age—both of these items are likely a result of the activity of the Flood. The warming we are experiencing today has been present since the peak of the Ice Age (with variations over time).

Confusion

God commanded Noah and his descendants to spread across the earth.

The refusal to obey this command and the building of the tower at Babel caused God to judge this sin. The common language of the people was confused and they spread across the globe as groups with a common language. All people are truly of “one blood” as descen-dants of Noah and, originally, Adam.

The confusion of the languages led people to scat-ter across the globe. As people settled in new areas, the traits they carried with them became concentrated in those populations. Traits like dark skin were beneficial in the tropics while other traits benefited populations in northern climates, and distinct people groups, not races, developed.

Other contexts include:Genetics—the study of human DNA has shown that

there is little difference in the genetic makeup of the so-called “races.”

Languages—there are about seventy language groups from which all modern languages have developed.

Archaeology—the presence of common building struc-tures, like pyramids, around the world confirms the biblical account.

Literature—recorded and oral records tell of similar events relating to the Flood and the dispersion at Babel.

Christ

God did not leave mankind without a way to be redeemed from its sinful

state. The Law was given to Moses to show how far away man is from God’s standard of perfection. Rather than the sacrifices, which only covered sins, people needed a Savior to take away their sin. This was accomplished when Jesus Christ came to earth to live a perfect life and, by that obedience, was able to be the sacrifice to satisfy God’s wrath for all who believe.

The deity of Christ and the amazing plan that was set forth before the foundation of the earth is the core of Christian doctrine. The earthly life of Jesus was the fulfillment of many prophecies and confirms the truthfulness of the Bible. His miracles and presence in human form demonstrate that God is both intimately concerned with His creation and able to control it in an absolute way.

Other contexts include:Psychology—popular secular psychology teaches of the

inherent goodness of man, but Christ has lived the only perfect life. Mankind needs a Savior to redeem it from its unrighteousness.

Biology—Christ’s virgin birth demonstrates God’s sover-eignty over nature.

Physics—turning the water into wine and the feeding of the five thousand demonstrate Christ’s deity and His sovereignty over nature.

History—time is marked (in the western world) based on the birth of Christ despite current efforts to change the meaning.

Art—much art is based on the life of Christ and many of the masters are known for these depictions, whether on canvas or in music.

Cross

Because God is perfectly just and holy, He must punish sin. The sinless life

of Jesus Christ was offered as a substitutionary sacrifice for all of those who will repent and put their faith in the Savior. After His death on the Cross, He defeated death by rising on the third day and is now seated at the right hand of God.

The events surrounding the crucifixion and resurrec-tion have a most significant place in the life of Christians.

The World of Animals • 13

Though there is no way to scientifically prove the resurrec-tion, there is likewise no way to prove the stories of evolu-tionary history. These are matters of faith founded in the truth of God’s Word and His character. The eyewitness testimony of over 500 people and the written Word of God provide the basis for our belief.

Other contexts include:Biology—the biological details of the crucifixion can be

studied alongside the anatomy of the human body.History—the use of crucifixion as a method of punish-

ment was short-lived in historical terms and not known at the time it was prophesied.

Art—the crucifixion and resurrection have inspired many wonderful works of art.

Consummation

God, in His great mercy, has prom-ised that He will restore the earth to its

original state—a world without death, suffering, war, and disease. The corruption introduced by Adam’s sin will be removed. Those who have repented and put their trust in the completed work of Christ on the Cross will experience life in this new heaven and earth. We will be able to enjoy and worship God forever in a perfect place.

This future event is a little more difficult to con-nect with academic subjects. However, the hope of a life in God’s presence and in the absence of sin can be inserted in discussions of human conflict, disease, suf-fering, and sin in general.

Other contexts include:History—in discussions of war or human conflict the

coming age offers hope.Biology—the violent struggle for life seen in the preda-

tor-prey relationships will no longer taint the earth.Medicine—while we struggle to find cures for diseases

and alleviate the suffering of those enduring the effects of the Curse, we ultimately place our hope in the healing that will come in the eternal state.

The preceding examples are given to provide ideas for integrating the Seven C’s of History into a broad range of curriculum activities. We would recommend that you give your students, and yourself, a better understanding of the Seven C’s framework by using AiG’s Answers for Kids curriculum. The first seven les-sons of this curriculum cover the Seven C’s and will establish a solid understanding of the true history, and future, of the universe. Full lesson plans, activities, and student resources are provided in the curriculum set.

We also offer bookmarks displaying the Seven C’s and a wall chart. These can be used as visual cues for the students to help them recall the information and integrate new learning into its proper place in a bibli-cal worldview.

Even if you use other curricula, you can still incor-porate the Seven C’s teaching into those. Using this approach will help students make firm connections between biblical events and every aspect of the world around them, and they will begin to develop a truly bib-lical worldview and not just add pieces of the Bible to what they learn in “the real world.”

Mammals The World of Animals • 15

Unit 1

Mammals

1 The World of AnimalsIs it a mouse or a moose?

Supply listNote: Throughout this book you may wish to have additional resources with color pictures and infor-mation about each group of animals being studied. Animal encyclopedias or other resources, such as the Answers in Genesis Zoo Guide and Aquarium Guide, can be valuable in enhancing the lessons.

What did we learn?• What are the two major divisions of animals? Verte-

brates and invertebrates.

• What are two similarities among all animals? They move and they must eat plants or other animals.

Taking it further• When did God create the different animal kinds? On

Day Five of creation God created fish and birds; on Day Six He created land animals. See Genesis 1.

• How is man different from animals? Humans have a conscience so they can tell right from wrong; animals act on instinct. People have a spirit so they can have a relationship with God; animals do not. People were made in God’s image; animals were not. Despite our physical similarities, people are spiritually very different from animals. God gave man dominion over the animals. See Genesis 1:28.

2 VertebratesDoes it have a backbone?

Supply list3-ring binder 12 or more dividers with tabs

Supplies for ChallengeDrawing materials

What did we learn?• What are the two major divisions of the animal king-

dom? Vertebrates and invertebrates.

• What characteristics define an animal as a vertebrate? Vertebrates have a spinal cord ending in a brain pro-tected by a backbone. They also have internal skeletons.

• What are the five groups of vertebrates? Mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish.

Taking it further• Think about pictures you have seen of dinosaur skel-

etons. Do you think dinosaurs were vertebrates or invertebrates? Why do you think that? Dinosaurs were vertebrates. This is shown by the fact that dinosaurs have internal skeletons and these skeletons contain ver-tebrae along the backs of the animals.